Ralls County was created in 1820 from Pike County and lies deep in the heart of Mark Twain country, on the banks of the Mississippi River. It was named for Missouri legislator, Daniel Ralls. Settlement records give information such as names of heirs, disposition of property, and, in a few cases, dates which help establish an approximate time of death or burial. The genealogical abstracts contained in this volume are taken from Roll No. C5637 obtained from the Missouri State Archives. Some entries contain interesting details, such as sales of property, monies owed to doctors and undertakers, funds set aside for schooling of heirs, clothing handed down to slaves, and money value of slaves, while others give only a date with voucher numbers and no names. Every effort has been made to retain the original spelling of names and any other genealogical data included with the settlement record. All entries are in order as they appear in the original records. A handy surname index (with approximately 5,000 names) is included for ease of reference.